Harden is actually a really good iso defender he's just an absolutely horrible off ball, he gets lost so many times and that can be improved HE NEEDS TO STOP BALL WATCHING. He can improve that, that really is just laziness and not being focused. If you dont believe me about the Iso Harden thing, check this out
PJ Tucker holds Harden and CP3 accountable when they lose their assignments on D. He calls them out. That's been a very good thing for this team last year.
So observation-ally, your conclusion would be that the sum of the parts was what worked? Eg. everyone playing their role and not being completely useless defensively in a switching scheme? With Ariza being a meaningful, but not replaceable, part of that? That was my feel from basically the whole season including the playoffs against every team, including the Warriors. But that said, still needs to be replaced. I didn't watch enough of Ennis to know if he's capable of that, but I'd assume that is part of DM's thought process. On a pure measurement basis, Ariza was slightly taller with a slightly longer wingspan, but Ennis is no shrimp in that category I guess.
Agreed, important but not irreplaceable. We'll just have to wait and see on Ennis. I agree with you and the evidence shows that he was damn good in the regular season. That said, I don't think it held up in the Warriors series. He got attacked and smoked one-on-one. Generally, it would either end up in a blow by shot or a blow by that caused the defense to rotate resulting in an open shot. He was okay in the post because he's strong and his reach-around isn't considered a foul (phrasing, lol). And yes, his laziness and inattention off-ball was problematic.
I doubt it because Ariza wasn't really a standout individual defender. He was a great team defender and I think the new kid can fill that role. However, the fact he couldn't put the ball on the floor, poor rim finishing, zero passing ability, very streaky shooting, etc.. all those "skills" are also gone. To be frank, I think Ariza was very overrated by everyone including the media. IMO we've improved by him moving on. Healthy Luc Ma Booty is a bigger lost imo because he was the defender Ariza was but he could put the ball on the floor and finish at the rim. But that damn shoulder... it's a ticking time bomb...
Well he was mostly isod by either Durant or Curry, two of the best players in the game and Durant is unstoppable one on one, of course they are gonna attack him on one one sometimes and yea it was gonna be really successful. But it was never gonna work repeatedly for them like it was for us when we attacked or Curry or one of their bigs. The damage done by Harden was mostly in transition or losing his man off ball, and thats what really hurt us. But if you have more stats of Harden defending perimeter isos and what that yielded in terms of points per possession, I'd gladly change my stance.
Harden is a GREAT 1v1 defender but a TERRIBLE team defender. Get's caught looking and lost on so many possessions. He's like the opposite of Ariza who's very average individually but has team defensive concepts on point.
I didn’t know where to post this, but I saw Trevor at Target in Culver City last weekend with his family. I was in Dad mode and as soon as I saw him approaching I blurted out “I’m sorry to hear you are leaving the Rockets, thanks for everything...” he kind of froze and processed the information, realizing I was a genuine fan, so he acknowledged me and I thanked him again. It was my second encounter with any Rocket player, both were ex Rockets at the time,the other was Rafer at IAH I wonder what I would say if I ever saw Royce White
Ryno has never been a problem in the regular season per se. He was injured towards the end of the season so I will not judge his playoffs performance. However, teams have caught to on to defending him by over playing him at the 3 point line, the fact that he cannot/will not make a cut to the basket, or pump fake and drive make him completely useless at times.
I will miss his defense. I won't miss the flat tire that jumped off of every time he tried to go up in the lane in traffic. For a dude that is 6'9" with his wingspan, he'd jump in traffic like he was 50 years old.
